Staff

Sablefish Gut Microbiome

Bacteria and archea have a significant role in regulating vertebrate physiology, especially in nutrition and metabolism. Gut microbes can synthesize vitamins, digest carbohydrates, and affect absorption of lipids. These gut microbial communities and their interactions with the host is the gut microbiome.

Knowledge about the gut microbiome can help management of fish nutrition and growth. For example, sustainable marine fish aquaculture needs feeds that do not rely on wild fisheries as a source of protein and lipids.

We have begun to evaluate the gut microbiome of the sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria). Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes are the dominant taxa, and there are distinct differences in the stomach, intestine, and rectal microbiomes.

List of people involved in the project:
Linda Rhodes, Mark Myers, Ronald Johnson